eu

Several of Spain's 18 savings banks have failed tests to see how they would cope with worsened economic conditions, according to reports.

France and Germany have called for rapid agreement on new EU rules to ban elaborate forms of speculation on national debt and company shares.

Britain and France are at odds with other European Union countries over plans to insure against future bank failures, in another sign of the problems in trying to forge a common response to the bloc's economic woes.

The AIFM directive was drafted by the EU in response to what it saw as an absence of common regulatory standards for non-Ucits investment vehicles and there are six key issues that specifically affect the UK-listed closed-ended fund sector.

The new energy sector continues to benefit from government-mandated growth targets which aim to combat climate change and promote energy security.